Virtually Real Danger
by evegirl169
Summary: "MyAlternative" is the biggest thing to hit the year 2213. It's got everyone playing the game. But what if the game is much bigger than what it seems...? In comes the Doctor and Clara! Bonus points for befriending young computer nerds and saving the world.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there, fellow FanFiction followers! So... this is my FIRST EVER FANFICTION STORY! WOOHOO! The key word being "First", so please be kind! Reviews and comments are heavily appreciated though! Anything to make this story go off without a hitch! Thank you and enjoy! P.S. I do not own "Doctor Who", the Eleventh Doctor, or Clara Oswald. If I did, all of my stories would be on TV and Matt Smith would NOT be leaving... Thank you again!**

"Tammi."

"Tammi."

"TAMMI!"

Tammi's head bolted upright, her eyes wider than saucers and her breath catching. She quickly looked around her. _Phew! _she said in her head. She was just at the office with the guys. _Must've fallen asleep again._ Tammi rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms a little before cracking her knuckles, ready to get back to business.

She stared at the computer screen in front of her and saw that there was nothing but numbers, numbers, and more numbers floating across the screen. Code numbers. Those were the ones that Tammi loved most. She had to love them. It was her job after all, here in "MyAlternative". A virtual world. A game.

Not that Tammi minded. It was a hell of a game. Loads of fun. Like "Sims" except more real. But who cares about what was real anymore? The teenagers didn't. They didn't care. As long as something as big and real as "MyAlternative" took them away from their homework and pathetic lives for a few hours, life was good.

And only took a few minutes! All you had to do was chose a username, a password, and take a small and simple quiz. The quiz was, then, used to create a virtual character, a virtual home, a suitable job, and get you connected with people who shared "common" interests.

Suddenly, a pop-up appeared on Tammi's screen.

_New player added. Information being transferred._

_ Speak of the devil,_ Tammi thought as she began pecking away at her keyboard.

"Another newbie?" Terrance asked, looking over his shoulder for just a second before going back to typing up a code for his own "newbie".

"Yep," Tammi replied, never taking her eyes off of the screen as she began reading the information. "Mr.T_Jr.007".

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dylan hollered from across the room, poking his head up over his monitor. "It's one thing to be taking Mr. 007's name in vain. It's another to be taking my Mr. T's name in vain!"

"Dylan, stop talking about people like you're married to them. It's kind of old. But still creepy," Tammi sighed, rolling her eyes but not taking the time to actually look at him.

"Hey! Mr. T is a brother just like me!" Dylan went on, pointing out his dark-colored skin. "And us brothers got to stick together. You feel me?"

"Dylan," Tammi started, finally having a spare moment to roll around in her chair and say directly to his face, "Keep calm and shut up." As she said this, she pointed out each word that was printed on her forest-green T-shirt. This only made Dylan give her a raspberry and move back behind his screen. Tammi couldn't help but add, "And get back to work! I've got a feeling this is going to be a long day."

This wasn't new to any of the three. They knew all of this didn't run on it's own. That's why they were there at the MyAdminstrativeBuilding. They help out the new players and keep up with the current players. They set up the codes. Register the usernames and passwords into the records. Give out guidelines. Tips. They are, basically, the brains of this operation. They were special.

And being special meant that they didn't have actual "gamers". They were controlled wholly by the website itself. They were personally created by the creator herself, Mrs. Ratfield, who was highly regarded and praised not only in the website, but in the real world as well. And when you are specifically created by the most well-known woman in the technology industry to handle all of her paperwork, which includes nearly one billion files,… you are practically considered a "golden child". Especially if you're a child yourself.

Tammi was the youngest in the office. Fourteen. Though she acted like she was in her mid-twenties. Which is an advantage when you're working with two seventeen-year old boys who act like they're _five._ But Tammi didn't mind it all that much. At least they kept things fresh and alive. Which that in itself is refreshing when you're working in a cramped room with wires dangling from the roof, wires slithering around the desks and along the concrete floors, and six-inch computer screens blaring bright lights and random numbers right at your face. It's amazing that Tammi was able to survive two whole years on the job without needing glasses.

Not that she would ever get glasses. She always kept her trusty wide-eyed goggles propped atop her frizzy, black-haired head just in case such a thing were to happen. Though they may not help that much…. Still, Tammi thought they were cool. _Goggles are cool. _

"So tell me more about this Mr.T_Jr.007," Terrance said, more and more of his light British accent coming up.

"Well…." Tammi said, scanning over the gamer's quiz results. "Apparently he loves weight-lifting, has a two point average, and enjoys pizza and video games on a Saturday night."

"Another bonehead, huh?" Terrance chuckled.

"Uh huh."

"Make him a boxer," Dylan interjected. "Anyone with those kind of interests has nothing else to offer us other than cheap entertainment and one hell of an after-party."

"Sure thing." And with that, Tammi began typing in the numbers, which was sort of like second nature to her now. In just one minute, Tammi made Mr.T_Jr.007 a first-class boxer with a penthouse apartment overlooking Malibu Beach.

"And…. Begin!" Tammi said to herself, like she always does when she finishes the coding. To her, finishing a code means starting something new. Something amazing. Something…. addicting.

**Dum dum DUMMMMMMM! So, that's the first chapter! Hope it grabbed some much-needed attention! Again, review and comments are appreciated and thank you all for taking the time to read this! Fingers crossed that this takes off!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Me again with an all new chapter! Thanks to those who have viewed and commented. I promise you all things will become clearer as the story goes on. We are only on chapter 2! So... here it is! Enjoy!**

"Okay! Speed accelerating. Sparks flying. And bones being broken. This isn't good!" the Doctor exclaimed over the TARDIS's rather loud cries and noises as he found himself flying across the control panel and bumping into the railing.

"Really, Einstein?!" Clara yelled as she held onto the railing on the other side for dear life.

"Oi! No need to bring Einstein into this!" the Doctor cried as he slowly tried to move back toward the panel. "He actually wouldn't put this situation into such simple terms, smart as he was. He would rather say something like…"

"DOCTOR! SPEED. SPARKS. BROKEN BONES. RING A BELL?!"

"Oh! Right! Yes!" the Doctor recalled, focusing now on one of the TARDIS's many long levers. He took two more steps and, with a silent prayer in his head, lunged for the lever, grabbing onto it just in the nick of time. Then, the TARDIS began jerking again, threatening to sweep the ground from underneath the TimeLord and his human companion.

It was chaos…. Though it hadn't been that way just a few short minutes ago.

Everything before this was fine. It was, practically, smooth sailing for the Doctor and Clara. They had the whole day planned out. They were going to travel to Bangkok (at Clara's suggestion) to soak up a little culture, artwork, and, maybe, some sun… But then, just as the Doctor was about to type in the coordinates, the TARDIS began making strange noises. Then, the screen began delaying and freezing up.

The Doctor tried some random buttons to try and fix the problem, but it only resulted in the sparks flying and the strange noises growing louder and louder. Clara could only stand back and look at the Doctor with concern. Although she has seen the horrors and tantrums the TARDIS could pull, she has NEVER seen the TARDIS act like this before.

But if she thought THAT was the worse the TARDIS could do, she didn't expect the violent twists and turns that quickly came after that. Soon, Clara found herself clinging onto the side railing while the Doctor was flung carelessly every which way like a rag doll until he grabbed on the lever.

He pulled down on the lever with all of his might, but it didn't help much (apart from that it kept him grounded for five seconds). "COME ON!" he yelled with all of his might. Suddenly, the lever gave way and broke apart from the control panel, sending the Doctor flying backwards to the railings. He grabbed a hold of it and took a quick look at the lever that was in his hand, wires dangling aimlessly. His face showed signs of small panic. Nothing this bad ever happened to his Sexy. Never.

"Okay…" he began, "I can fix that."

"Try fixing this first, Doctor!" Clara called again, slowly slipping form her death-grip.

The Doctor found no other choice but to simply toss the lever aside (which landed with a loud _THUD), _and slowly make his way along the railing around the TARDIS, searching for a button not yet pressed. He looked on carefully, scrutinizing every nook and cranny.

"Doesn't the TARDIS have any brakes?" Clara asked, finding that her throat was getting sore from all of the yelling.

"What do you think I just broke off?" the Doctor asked, not looking back to see Clara roll her eyes tiredly and say under her breath, "Oh, Doctor!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the TARDIS gave another big and loud jerk, the biggest one yet. So big that it tore Clara away from the railing. She was about to go gliding over to the other side, when, before she knew it, she heard a loud "CLARA!", and her hand was caught. She was, then, pulled up next to the Doctor, who held onto her with the same kind of grip she lost earlier.

All they didn't was hold on. What else could they do?

"How long can the TARDIS go on like this?" Clara asked.

"Don't know!" the Doctor replied. "Depends, I guess."

"Depends on what?"

"How long it could take her to blow up."

Clara turned toward the Doctor, her face scared straight.

"She wouldn't."

"She can," the Doctor said, hesitating for just a moment before adding, "And she might. The TARDIS has never acted this rowdy before. If it continues, it might only be a short amount of time before she comes to the brink of collapse."

Clara's face was blank now. So many times she has stared death in the face with the Doctor. Technically, she _already _died for the Doctor. But that was then. She was safe _now. _He was safe _now. _It couldn't happen again. It couldn't.

"Just keep holding on," the Doctor said, bringing Clara back to the situation at hand and staring her square in the eyes. Those big, brown eyes that seemed to make her look young but old beyond her years at the same time. "Keep holding on," he continued, "And never let go."

"That's the trick," Clara whispered.

"Yes," he whispered back.

They stood there, looking on and holding on, as the TARDIS's noises began to grow so loud that their eardrums threatened to burst at any second. They, finally, shut their eyes, waiting for the moment of their demise.

But nothing happened.

Everything stopped around them.

The sparks died down. The noises halted altogether. The ground stood still, like it was meant to do.

The Doctor and Clara opened their eyes slowly, never letting go of each other for one second.

Silence.

Nothing more.

Thinking it safe to explore, the Doctor gently sat Clara's hands down and walked over to the control panel. He examined the whole thing, top to bottom, all the way around. It was dead. No flashing lights. No funny little noises.

Clara looked on with him from a distance, not wanting to risk it if the TARDIS started acting up again.

The Doctor skimmed his fingers over the buttons, until he stopped at one that was small and used to light up the color blue. He stared at it for the longest time.

He knew what it was.

The TARDIS's "REBOOT" button. If he pressed it, the TARDIS could start up again, and go on as if nothing ever happened.

_Could._

If he pressed it, it might, either, fail to restart or electrocute him on the spot.

He looked up to Clara, who only stared back at him with question and possible hope. He gave a quick nod to her and pushed the button.

_DING!_

All of the lights above the TARDIS began to flicker on and, pretty soon, the whole thing was alive again. No more sparks. No more jerking. Noises kept at a minimal volume. "AH!" the Doctor exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and spinning himself around freely. Clara smiled along with him, automatically letting go of the railing and slowly walking around the room. "Thank you, Sexy!" she heard the Doctor cry out, and couldn't help but stop for a moment to turn around and cock an eyebrow at him.

"Excuse me?" she asked. "Sexy?"

_Oops! _the Doctor said in his mind, stopping in his tracks, arms in midair, to backtrack for a second on what he just said.

"Oh," was all he could get out, not letting Clara see him quickly begin to blush. He put his arms down and quickly swung around to face her. "Well, you… you see, I…. well… It's just that…. We…. Shut up!" he announced, adjusting his bowtie and straightening out his tweed jacket before rushing over to the TARDIS's main screen. Clara grinned at herself and then, presently, joined the Doctor.

"So, where are we?" she asked. "Bangkok?"

"No. No." the Doctor said, typing in some words on the keyboard and checking up on the screen every now and then. "I didn't get the chance to put the coordinates in."

"Ok," Clara said, slowly so her mind could take in all that just happened. "But why did the TARDIS begin acting up like that? It can't just do it on it's own, can it?"

"Well, yes and no," the Doctor began. "The TARDIS can act up a bit at times. Lock doors. Rev the engines. Shut off the electricity. But it's not that powerful to do what it just now did."

Clara studied the Doctor's face. It looked curious and determined. It was a look she was all-too familiar with. Whe the Doctor had that look on his face, he wouldn't rest until he was satisfied with an answer.

"It was something else, then?" she tried. "Something on the outside?"

The Doctor's face began to perk up and his eyes lit up with excitement. "Ah…!" he cried, reaching forward to give Clara a high five. She graciously accepted it, beaming inside about her small accomplishment. It was a start!

"That's it!" he yelled, pointing at Clara while backing away from her and to the opposite side of the panel. "That's it exactly!"

"Ok," Clara said, walking along with him. "So… what is that something else?"

"Only one way to find out!" the Doctor replied, a hint of sheer giddiness in his voice. He was now backed against the TARDIS doors, his hands holding onto the handles. Clara's eyes slowly began to light up with the same level of excitement and her mouth turned into a childish grin.

Something inside told her that she was about to have another awesome adventure with the madman in a police box.

**CLIFFHANGER! I know. I know. Settle down. ;-) Reviews and comments welcomed and accepted. Keep on following me as this summer begins to heat up! WOOHOO!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Guess who? ME! And I'm back with another new chapter! View and review if you like! Enjoy!**

"And….. Begin!" Tammi exclaimed as she hit the ENTER key. "And there you are BarbieBabe01. Sitting pretty along the beaches of Hawaii while all of those photographers snap pictures of your skinny body and wavy blonde hair-"

"Tammi…" Terrance began, rolling in his chair to look at Tammi's pursed lips and hawk eyes, "She's just code. You have no idea if she looks like that in real life."

"Yeah, you don't know that…" Dylan began, but stopped to take a quick look at BarbieBabe01, which ended up being much longer than expected.

"Dylan," Tammi said, catching onto Dylan's smitten face, "when you're finished drooling, there's another newbie here that needs settling in."

Scrunching up his face like a spoiled child, Dylan settled back into his chair and began typing away again. Tammi couldn't help but turn to Terrance and silently chuckle with him. It's times like these that make Tammi wish she wasn't paired with these two and glad that she was paired with them at the same time. They were… weird like that.

Going back to her computer screen, Tammi automatically received another update.

_New player added. Information… Denied._

Tammi did a double-take on the message staring her in the face. _What? Denied? How is that?_

Information has never been denied. Never.

_Something's up, _Tammi concluded, and began typing in random numbers to try and see if she could retrieve the information back. After a couple of seconds, she came to her senses and gave up. No sense in pursuing _one _gamer when there were _millions_ of others waiting to be added. She exited out of her windows and returned to her home screen. She sat with her back erect and her fingers lingering over the keys, waiting for another pop-up to appear any second.

She waited like this.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Nothing.

No pop-ups.

No new players.

No NOTHING.

"Hey," she hollered, settling her head into the palm of her hand, "Any new players come up for either of you?"

"Uh… No, actually," Terrance answered first, scrolling through all of the codes he just entered.

"Nothing here," Dylan called from behind his monitor. "You think Mrs. Ratfield is shutting down the game to add more stuff?"

"If she was, she would've messaged us to alert all players of the game," Tammi reminded him.

"Look on the bright side," Terrance interjected, a cocky grin slowly forming along his face, "at least we get a few free minutes. Want to spy on some of the other players?"

"Yes sir!" Tammi cheered, clapping her hands together in a fan girl fashion. And with that, she hopped out of her chair and scurried over to Terrance's desk. She was, soon, followed by Dylan, who gave a short "Damn straight!" in response.

And with that, the three teenagers were crouched over Terrance's computer screen, taking a look through all of the game's secret security cameras.

As another way to "keep up" with current members of "MyAlternative", Mrs. Ratfield installed cameras into every lamppost, mailbox, and street corner in the game. If any funny business went on (secret online drug deals, cyber bullying, etc.), Tammi, Terrance, and Dylan were given permission to inform the gamer of what the situation was and terminate all information and coding of that gamer. In short, the cameras were only to be used for _emergencies. _Although such emergencies never happened.

Which is why the three troublemakers couldn't help but peek in on them every now and then to see all of the weirdos and wannabes. Right now, they were watching a Mexican thug try to pick up a hot, rich girl outside the MyDiner all while secretly scratching his behind. They just laughed and laughed their asses off. It was amazing how crazy the characters could act, and made them wonder if maybe it was a reflection of the gamer as a _real _person.

"Oh! Look! Look! Look!" Dylan exclaimed, pointing to camera number thirteen. Terrance zoomed in on it, and nearly fell out of his chair at the sight. There was a grown man sitting on a bus bench, eating a sandwich,… with no pants on.

Tammi held her stomach in as tears came up in her eyes. "Workaholic. Definitely!" she exclaimed. "Definitely," the boys repeated in between gasps for air.

Just as Tammi was lifting her head up and catching her breath, she caught sight of camera four and squinted her eyes for a moment. She couldn't be seeing things. It couldn't be.

"Hey," she said, seriously, "check out camera four."

"Ok," Terrance answered, giving out one last chuckle before zooming in. The sight that laid in front of all three of them made them stop with alarm.

There, in the middle of the street across from the MyDiner, stood a man. A tall, rather lanky, man in a purple, tweed jacket with a bowtie. His brown bangs that came slightly over his eyes was waving in the wind, following the motion of his arms swinging left and right, left and right.

"Hello!" he called out to no one in particular, in a thick British accent. "Hello! Hello!"

"What is the point of this again?" a female Cockney voice called out from outside the camera's view.

"I'm trying to get help," the man explained, never taking his eyes off the road ahead.

"Looks like you need psychiatric help," the female retorted.

"Well I don't see you coming up with any other brilliant ideas!"

Still watching but not really paying attention to the two strangers' argument, Tammi asked, "Who are they?"

"I don't know," Dylan replied, "But I sure as hell don't remember coding them in on the computer."

"You're sure?" Tammi asked, rolling her eyes at the thought. They went through hundreds and thousands of coding everyday. They may be smart, but not smart enough to recall EVERY SINGLE code by MEMORY.

"I'm positive!" Dylan spat back, "Besides, do we even have a code for… Victorian jackets and bow ties?"

"I don't think so," Terrance added in, "But I know _I _didn't code them."

"I'll look them up real quick." With that said, Tammi jogged over to her computer and typed in the man's description in the SEARCH box. The next screen read "_No positive username and password has been found."_

"There's nothing," Tammi reported.

"What do you mean?" Dylan asked, turning away from the onscreen battle for just a minute to look at her with confusion in his eyes.

"What do you mean 'What do I mean'?" she asked. "I said there's nothing. How many definitions are in 'nothing?!"

"Guys! Guys! Please," Terrance pleaded, raising himself up out of his seat to face both of them. "Look, it's obvious we're dealing with a virus or something."

"A virus?" Tammi repeated, scoffing a little before saying, "Jeez, Terrance I thought you were smarter. A virus doesn't come in the form of a Victorian British guy and his mate!"

"Ok, well…" Terrance counteracted, "a virus can destroy anything right? So, maybe it's not actually a virus, but rather…. It's acting _like _a virus."

Tammi was dead-silent, her eyes filled with worry and deep concern. She had heard things about people who were jealous of the game's sudden success and had threatened to "get that woman if it's the last thing I do!". Mrs. Ratfield had assured Tammi once before that those people weren't smart or bright enough to take down a game as powerful as "MyAlternative".

And Tammi had believed her.

Until now.

What if this man was a creation of one of the competitors, sent to come here and get enough info to take down the game?

Her mind began racing, trying to conjure up a plan to get rid of the "supposed" virus with out making it seem obvious. Out of nowhere, she found herself asking, "Can those speakers double as intercoms?"

Terrance turned around to Dylan, each boy giving a confused look to the other. Finally, Terrance turned back and said, "I don't know. I think they can. Why?"

"If this is a virus posing as a person, it can… speak. So… we talk to him. Try and figure out more about him. Meanwhile, one of us can figure out a way to delete him from the system."

Slowly, both boys got the picture, and nodded their approval. With a fake grin plastered on her face, Tammi ran back over to Terrance's computer and began typing away.

No trouble ever came to "My Alternative".

It wasn't about to start now.

**Ooooo... What'll happen next? Stick around and see! I promise more fun and banter in the next chapter. :-)**


	4. Chapter 4

**HELLO! I'm back! So here's that chapter I promised! I've already gotten so much positive feedback from you all and I thank each and every one of you who read and review my story! If this keeps up, I'll have to add another all-new "Doctor Who" story... But we'll have to wait and see! Here goes nothing...!**

"HELLO!"

After a few seconds of coding, she had finally managed to activate the intercom system in the security camera. She took a seat in Terrance's chair and sat as close to the screen as she could so it could pick up her voice. The first time she tested it, her voice was too soft. The second time was close, but not close enough. Finally, she yelled at the computer screen. Terrance and Dylan quickly covered their ears and the strange man on the screen jumped with a start. He began looking around for the unfamiliar voice in the sky.

"HEY! YOU!" Tammi yelled.

"Who? Me?" the man asked, still looking around, slightly scared and confused.

"YES YOU! OVER HERE!"

The man kept scrutinizing the area until, finally, he looked directly into the lens, giving Tammi a full view of his face. Thin with a longer-than-normal chin and deep-set eyes. _Creepy, _Tammi couldn't help but think.

"Ah!" the man exclaimed, taking a deep sigh of relief as he ran up towards the camera, making sure he stayed in full view. "Hello there!" he said, waving excitedly, a bright smile spreading over his face.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Tammi asked bluntly.

"Oh," the man let out, quickly stopping his hand and holding it in midair. "Uh… Right." And with that, he straightened up his posture, his jacket, and his little bowtie and said, "I… am the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" Tammi turned to ask the boys silently.

"Strange name for a virus," Terrance put in.

"That's for damn sure," Dylan commented.

Tammi just scoffed and continued with her interrogation. "WHERE ARE YOU FROM, DOCTOR?"

"Well, you know," he said, "here. There. Everywhere really."

"WHERE ARE YOU FROM?" Tammi asked again, not buying his vague answer for a second.

"Oh. Uh…" he hesitated. Tammi quirked up an eyebrow. _Gotcha!_ There's no way that this guy was going to worm his way out of this.

But he did. Just…. not like she expected.

"If you must know, I originate from the planet Gallifrey."

"WHAT?!" Tammi exclaimed.

"Ok… Did that dude just say 'planet'?" Dylan asked, his face scrunching up again.

Tammi didn't comment. All she did was sit back and let her mind try to process this new information. The Doctor from the planet Gallifrey….

Was it a lie?

It could've been.

Even if it was, she thought that the supposed competitors would've been a little bit smarter and type in a more _realistic _place. If it really _was_ the competitors doing this.

Finally, she took a deep breath, and whispered to herself, "Ok." She was _not_ going to let this affect her in the slightest. Her only job now was to get the information and delete this "Doctor". Who cared where he was from?

"OK." she yelled to the screen, "I'M JUST GOING TO STOP ALL THE SOFTBALL QUESTIONS AND ASK YOU…. WHAT ARE YOU, DOCTOR?"

"What am I?" the Doctor repeated, a curious expression coming on. "Well….. I'm a TimeLord. Over a thousand-years old, to be specific."

"WHAT?!" Tammi exclaimed out loud, making the Doctor back away in shock.

"What the hell is a TimeLord?!" Dylan cried out, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.

"And I know for a _fact _that the game hasn't been active for over a thousand years!" Terrance added, pointing at the screen as if it was evil.

"Ok. I'm, like, totally lost now!" Tammi stated bluntly, holding her head to keep it from spinning around and around.

"Who are you talking to?" the female Cockney voice from before chimed in. Soon, the camera showed a young woman walking up towards the Doctor. She was a foot shorter than him, wore a knee-length, red Chinese dress, matching flats, and had her short, brunette hair up in a ponytail, two chopsticks settled firmly in place.

"HEY!" Dylan called out, taking a moment to forget the Doctor and focus on someone else. "WHO CREATED ADULT DORA THE EXPLORER?" He didn't realize that his rather loud comments could be heard on the other side.

"Oi!" the woman exclaimed to the camera. "My name isn't Dora! It's Clara!"

"Really?!" Tammi asked, turning to give Dylan an exasperated look with rolling eyes to match. "We are dealing with a crisis and you're over there making jokes?!"

"SHE LOOKED MEXICAN!" Dylan said in his defense. "She got the short, dark hair and the bulgy, brown eyes and-and the tanned skin…."

"I'm not Mexican!" Clara shouted, taking a few steps closer to the camera. The Doctor caught her and pulled her back, obviously not wanting this to become more than what it should be. Whatever it was becoming….

"SORRY! SORRY!" Dylan pleaded. "IT'S… IT'S JUST SO CONFUSING!"

"Ok! OK!" Terrance yelled, trying to settle everyone down. "Let's just try this again."

He stepped on over to Tammi and placed his face in front of the computer, taking complete control of the questioning. "HELLO!" he yelled, just as Tammi had. "UM….WE-WE DON'T WANT ANY TROUBLE. ALL WE WANT IS ANSWERS."

"Well, maybe we want answers, too!" Clara remarked, placing her hands on her hips. "Like, where are we?"

"SERIOUSLY?" Tammi jumped back in.

"Seriously," Clara repeated.

Terrance and Tammi eyed each other questioningly. On the one hand, there was still the possibility of this being a trap. On the other hand, seeing as how the interview was going _so well, _there was the new possibility that they were just two lost strangers who needed a bit of help. Both agreed right then to take that risk.

"YOU'RE IN A GAME CALLED 'MYALTERNATIVE'," Terrance explained, looking deeply at the two for a reaction.

"Ooooo….!" the Doctor exclaimed, rubbing his hands together excitedly and smiling like a maniac (in Tammi's opinion). "Cool name! 'MyAlternative'. Sounds so… techno!"

"Speaking of 'techno'," Clara added, looking around at her surroundings, "is this whole place, like… in the future?"

"SORT OF," Terrance went on. "TECHNICALLY, THIS IS THE YEAR 2213."

"2213?!" Clara exclaimed, setting her arms down and widening her eyes even more than they already were. "You mean we're actually two hundred years into the future?" she asked the Doctor, who could only stand there stupidly with his mouth open and only air going through. He went from the camera to Clara and then back to the camera and then back to Clara. Obviously he had no clue what he was into now.

"EXCUSE ME?" Tammi asked.

"AH HELL!" Dylan exclaimed, loud enough so the Doctor and Clara could hear. "DON'T TELL ME YA'LL ARE, LIKE, TIME TRAVLERS OR SOMETHING."

"We are, actually!" the Doctor said, regaining his voice. "Very good observation… uh…"

"DYLAN," Dylan told him, almost hesitant at first. "DI_DYLAN66."

"Oh! Another cool name!" the Doctor expressed, getting that weird gleam in his eyes that made him look positively mad. "DI_Dylan66. So… professional."

Tammi snorted under her breath and added in a quick, "Yeah right."

Dylan was about to fire back when the Doctor asked, "So, Dylan, real quick, are you _really_ a detective inspector?"

"IS THAT WHAT THAT STANDS FOR?" Dylan asked, scratching his head in amazement.

"What'd you think it stood for?" Tammi asked. "'Definite Idiot'?"

Dylan was about to fire back when the Doctor suddenly asked, "And what about the other two voices? What are their names?"

"I'M TAMMI," Tammi responded. "TAMMITRON012."

"Lovely! Lovely!" the Doctor went on complimenting. "I met a baby who went by 'Robbybot 2.0'. Cute little thing. Nose like Pinocchio, though!"

"Ok," Tammi said to herself on the side. _What kind of a person randomly brings up a baby? Who goes by… "Robbybot 2.0"?_

"AND-AND I'M PTERODACTYLTERRANCE14," Terrance finished.

"Whoa!" the Doctor jumped. "Pterodactyls, huh? Amazing creatures. Wide wingspan with a long pointed beak to match. The ULTIMATE killing machine." He quickly turned to Clara and added under his breath, "Much more terrifying than your sharks in my opinion." Clara's eyebrows rose up in surprise when something hit her. She turned back to the camera.

"Hey! You're using _usernames_," she pointed out. "Why?"

"Oh, Clara! Please!" the Doctor begged. "This is a GAME. Any game you play doesn't ask for your _real _name. So you… make up one."

"THEY'RE STILL OUR NAMES," Tammi spat out. "AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I _REALLY_ DON'T LIKE HOW YOU'RE GETTING US OFF TOPIC TO TALK ABOUT BABIES AND SHARKS AND FREAKING PTERODACTYLS! WE HAVE QUESTIONS AND YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE US ANSWERS! SO, WHO ARE YOU? _WHAT_ ARE YOU? WHERE DO YOU COME FROM? AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

**Oh it's ON NOW! View and review! New chapters coming _real_ soon! Thank you and good night!**


	5. Chapter 5

**HI! ANOTHER CHAPTER! I know. I know. Keep calm my little pretties. ;-) ENJOY!**

"Ok! Ok!" the Doctor exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. "No need to get hostile!"

"I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO GET HOSTILE!" Tammi's voice echoed through the speakers, indicating pure rage.

"Now hold on!" Clara said, taking a few steps closer to the camera. "Please try to understand that you're not the only one who's confused! Me and the Doctor have no idea where we are or how we got here! How do you think we feel?"

Silence followed shortly after that. Clara could only stand there in suspense and look pleadingly into the lens. While she waited for her answer, she tried to picture herself talking to an actual human being instead of a security camera. Surely this girl Tammi had enough humanity and sense to try and reason with them. Even if this was just a game.

Finally, she heard a sigh come out along with Tammi saying, "FINE. BUT I STILL WANT ANSWERS."

"That's what we all want," Clara said, looking back at the Doctor to see if she should go on. He gave her a nod and a quick thumbs-up. She smiled a little before turning back around and saying. "Ok. You already know the Doctor, so… Hello. I'm Clara Oswald. I'm a human from Lancashire, England. I am the Doctor's… assistant. And… we _were _supposed to go to Bangkok. But our…"

She stopped for a moment, trying to figure out a way to include the TARDIS without making herself sound like a lunatic. She looked back at the Doctor again, pleading with her eyes for a little help. He didn't miss a beat when he said, "Mobile phone… got into a bit of a wreck."

Clara shook her head in disappointment and sent the Doctor one of her "Really?" looks.

"MOBILE PHONE?" Tammi asked. "IS THAT REALLY THE BEST YOU CAN DO?"

"It's a surprisingly accurate description," the Doctor replied, smirking a little as his mind took him back to the day he gave that same response to Clara. She couldn't help but smirk along with him. But that smirk was quickly wiped off of her face as she realized that the Doctor's "accurate description" made them sound even more insane than they probably looked.

"OK…" Tammi said, drawling out just a little, "SO WHERE IS THIS 'MOBILE PHONE'?"

"Well, see," the Doctor began, bringing himself more closer to Clara, "It's not exactly… right here with us."

"OH REALLY?" Tammi asked with hints of suspicion in her voice.

"Yes!" the Doctor exclaimed. "See, we were supposed to be heading over towards Bangkok… surely you've heard of Bangkok? Capital of Thailand. Home to over eight million people. Fabulous architecture. Amazing food services. Quite the little party city! Anyway, we were _supposed _to go there, as Clara mentioned earlier, but our 'mobile phone'," he paused to add air quotes, "was caught in a sort of jam and we ended up… here!" He then, began spinning around for extra effect. "We landed about a block down this road here, saw the diner and thought 'What the hell? Let's go get some tea!'" For the big finale, he shot his arms up in the air over his head and looked into the camera with the biggest smile his face could hold.

Silence.

No applause.

No "ooo's" or "ah's".

Just more silence.

Until….

"UH HUH. OK, SO, WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS THAT YOU, A REALLY OLD 'TIMELORD' FROM THE PLANET 'GALLIFREY', AND YOU'RE TRAVELLING HUMAN ASSISTANT CRASHED YOUR MOBILE PHONE HERE IN OUR GAME WHILE YOU TWO WERE ON YOUR WAY TO BANGKOK? AND NOW YOU HAVE NOOO IDEA HOW YOU MANAGED TO DO SO?" Tammi asked.

"Yes!" the Doctor said simply, smiling like an optimistic child and keeping his arms up high.

He began hearing things through the intercom. He tried to make them out, but he already knew that the three were whispering. His smile slowly began to fade, as well as his hope.

Clara began having doubts of her own. What they didn't believe them? Hell, she had been with the Doctor for some time now and there were times when even _she_ had to slow down and realize that this was actually happening.

Anything could happen. This was a game after all. They could have them blown up. Catapulted to a desert. Smashed with a sledgehammer! Just WHAT were they talking about?

Suddenly, the whispers stopped. Clara shot her head up towards the lens. This was it…

"GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN'T DELETE YOUR ASS FROM THE SYSTEM," Tammi managed to croak out.

Both the Doctor and Clara let out sighs of udder relief. This was both good news and bad news for them. The good news was that it gave them just a few extra minutes to live. The bad news was that those few minutes could easily turn into a few seconds if they didn't come up with a good reason.

"Ah!" the Doctor let out, setting his arms back down by his sides. "Right! Good reason. Good reason. Good reason…." He began banging his fists against his head, trying to make his brain work properly. Getting nothing, he ran back up to Clara and whispered into her ear, "What's a good reason?"

"Doctor?!" Clara exclaimed as quietly as she could.

"LOOK," Terrance quickly came on, "IT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE YOU. WE WANT TO. HONEST WE DO. BUT… YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW…. _RIDICULOUS _YOUR STORY SOUNDS."

"Oi! It's not that ridiculous!" the Doctor shot upwards, but then, quickly, took a moment to evaluate Tammi's original summary of the situation. He, finally, gave in. "Ok. I see your point. But if you really _really _think about it… you know, refer back to your 'Star Trek' and 'Astro Boy' or whatever the hell it is you kids watch in 2213, you'll realize it's not really that bizarre!"

"THOSE ARE JUST FANTASY!" Tammi shouted. "THEY AREN'T REAL!"

"Neither is this game!" the Doctor yelled, which only earned him more silence. _Damn! _he thought. Surely they were going to fry him and Clara now. He stared hard into the camera, blocking Clara with his arm, protecting her from whatever was sure to come.

"YOU STILL HAVEN'T GIVEN ME A REASON," Tammi came back on.

The Doctor could only blink a couple of times in amazement as his brain automatically began turning again. "Right," he said. "Reason to live. Why? Well…."

"Doctor," he heard Clara call from behind.

"Not now Clara. I'm thinking."

"Doctor?" she tried again.

"Not now!"

"DOCTOR!" she shouted.

"WHAT?!" he cried, swinging himself around to face her, his face a mix of anger and curiosity.

"The people…." she started, turning her head back around towards the diner. The Doctor looked through the window. What was inside surprised him.

All of the people were… _frozen._

People holding forks in their hands stopped in midair. Waitresses taking orders were stuck in place. Cooks preparing hot meals held their pans above their heads while the food they were flipping just hung there. No one was talking. No one was blinking. There was nothing.

"The people," the Doctor whispered to himself, gazing intently into the window. Clara looked along with him, then looked up to him, trying to put herself in the Doctor's place and see what he was seeing. Think what he was thinking.

"The people," he said again, a little louder this time. "THE PEOPLE!" He, then, charged for the window and stuck his whole body up against the glass. He couldn't help but smile and laugh at the sight he was seeing. This was _perfect!_

"HEY!" he called, running back up to the security camera while waving his arms above his head. "Hey! Hey! You want a reason for us to live, right?"

He saw the camera close in on its lens a little, indicating that he now had the audience's full attention.

"Well check this out!" he exclaimed, rushing back over to the diner's window and pointing at it. He looked behind him and saw that the camera had now swiveled in his direction. "Look inside! Look at the people!" The camera resized the lens again, and he went on, "All of them are frozen. FROZEN! Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but usually when a virtual world or any other type of game gets frozen, there's usually something wrong. Something _bad. _A bug. A virus. Whatever. The point is… SOMETHING IS WRONG."

He then walked slowly up towards the camera, making sure he looked straight into the heart of the lens, into the souls of the people on the other side. "You asked me to give you a reason. Here it is. You have a problem. I believe me and my assistant can fix it. Trust me… I'm the Doctor."

**Ooooo... NOWWW we're getting somewhere...! Please view and review and thanks to all of you who have put me on your 'Favorites' list! It really makes my day! Thank you! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi again! Well, well, well! Two chapters in one day! I'm on a roll! I know you are thinking that technically it's a new day but to me it's still Monday. HAHAHA! Anyway, new chapter! Posted now! Read and enjoy!**

Tammi's jaw dropped.

Was this _REALLY _happening to her? _WHY _was this happening to her?

All she did was sit in Terrance's chair and stare at his computer screen in amazement and shock while her mind tried to digest all of what happened. What _was _happening.

"Tammi?" she heard Terrance whisper to her, and she could feel him inching towards her. She didn't respond to any of it. All she did was stare blankly into space.

"What the hell is going on?" she managed to choke out. When she didn't get an answer right away, she said it again, but louder. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," she heard Dylan pipe in, and realized how long it had been since he last said anything. "But it's not just the diner. Take a look at this."

Tammi was too glued to the seat to get up, so Terrance went for her. He stood next to Dylan and looked on as more and more camera views were pulled up onto Dylan's screen. Views showing the shopping mall, the fitness center, the nearby suburban neighborhood, and even the gas station. Different places with one thing in common.

ALL of the people were frozen.

Women with bags stopped as their bags hung in space. Men who were jogging stood in place. Children who had previously been running and playing just froze in place, their laughter and giggling silenced.

"Holy crap," Terrance said to himself. Dylan nodded in agreement as he continued selecting random cameras and looking at all of the frozen people. "Tammi!" Terrance called out, taking a spare moment to look up to see her still sitting in the chair looking forward. He automatically became concerned and rushed on over next to her. He shook her shoulder a few times until she finally came around and rose her head up, showing a mix of so many different emotions. He managed to whisper to her, "You better come see this," and lead her slowly towards Dylan. He kept on scrolling through the views but took one second to check up on Tammi. He felt so sorry for her. Both of the boys did.

But now wasn't the time for emotions. Now they were _really _dealing with a crisis.

Tammi's eyes scanned every camera view in sight. She showed no other feelings. She didn't say anything else. She just stood there, looking intently.

After they were positive that they looked through every security camera, Dylan exited the window, bringing it back to his home screen. For a while the kids didn't say or do anything. They didn't even notice when the Doctor shouted, "Well?! Is that good enough?!"

"We really are dealing with something bad, aren't we?" Tammi finally gained the courage to ask asked.

That was pretty much what they were all thinking.

"All of the signs are there," she added. "The halt in gamer registrations. The frozen people. This… madman with his companion and 'mobile phone'."

The nodded silently in total agreement.

"So… what do we do about it?" Dylan asked, craning his neck a little to catch the reaction of his two colleagues. They looked back at him, their expressions blank and empty. They had no idea what to do. Who would?

Tammi let out several deep breaths and began to assess everything all over again.

She knew right off that the decrease in registration messages and the frozen people were connected somehow. The Doctor and Clara… well, she was positive now that they _weren't _created by the competitors. They were just two innocent strangers who mysteriously got sucked into the game. She still didn't know how yet, but the main thing was that it happened. The problem at hand was that there were _two _problems to deal with. The answer had to involve getting the game back to normal and getting the Doctor and Clara out of the game.

"The answer is simple," she accidentally said out loud, getting the attention of Terrance and Dylan. They looked at her anxiously, their feet tapping impatiently as they waited for her solution. She looked from one to the other as she carefully worded her plan. Finally, she brought the boys in closer and whispered her idea. When she was done, the boys could only lean back and stare at her in amazement.

"Technically, it's our job," Tammi finished.

They took a little while longer to think it over. Both knew it wasn't a bad idea. Actually, it was the only _practical _thing they could do. Quite simple.

"Sounds good," Terrance was the first to say, nodding his head a little to emphasize his choice.

"Yeah," Dylan added. "Hell, what else can we do?"

Wasting no time, Tammi walked back over to Terrance's screen and said, "LISTEN, ME AND THE BOYS HAVE BEEN ANALYZING THIS FOR A WHILE. IT'S OCCURRED TO US THAT THERE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE SOMETHING WRONG. WHILE YOUR HELP IS APPRECIATED, IT IS NOT NECESSARY. WE ARE GOING TO MESSAGE MRS. RATFIELD ABOUT THIS WHOLE DILEMMA. IF ANYONE WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO REGARDING THE GAME AND PLAYERS, SHE'LL KNOW. I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE WILL DO WITH YOU AND YOUR ASSISTANT…. BUT I'LL TRY AND PERSUADE HER TO LET YOU LIVE."

She didn't know what cam over her, but her face let loose the slightest grin when the Doctor blinked in surprise and suddenly exclaim, "Hey! Hey! HEY! THAT IS _GRAND_!" while jumping up in the air and putting on another face-splitting smile. Clara let out a loud sigh of relief as she joined the Doctor in his happiness. Tammi, Terrance, and Dylan chuckled and smiled along with them, glad that they were able to come to a reasonable solution that didn't involve harming anyone.

"OK!" Tammi said, winding down from the sudden high and rushing back over to her computer, saying, "_I'LL _TYPE UP THE MESSAGE!"

She turned her head back over her shoulder and whispered, "Dylan? Terrance? Try to… keep them busy."

The two boys gave her a slightly awkward look before drawling out in unison, "Ok…"

Tammi plastered on an enthusiastic grin and cracked her knuckles as she sat down. The feeling of being in her own seat again sent chills up her spine. "Ok," she breathed, going to her email and hitting the "Compose Message" button. Automatically, she began typing in the information.

_To: Mrs. RF_

_Subject: EMERGENCY!_

_Message: Dear Mrs. Ratfield,_

_This is TammiTron012 emailing you about… well… it's hard to explain. But I'll try to as best as I can. See, early this morning, as we were typing in more registrations for new players, the computer system just shut down and didn't take in any more information. Then, this strange man called 'The Doctor' and his friend 'Clara' arrived. Apparently, they were on their way to Bangkok in their… 'mobile phone', when they mysteriously got sucked into our game. They have no idea how it happened or how they'll get back. They ARE innocent, though. They are. And they have brought to our attention that ALL of the people here in the game are frozen. Just frozen. I know for a fact that they couldn't possibly have anything to do with the game's technical difficulties. All I ask is that you try to help solve the game's problems while also figuring out a way to help these two strangers. There is only so much me, PterodactylTerrance14, and DI_Dylan66 can do. Thank you for taking the time to read this and please respond as soon as possible._

_Sincerely,_

_TammiTron012_

SEND.

She hit the button as soon as she finished typing in her name in the sign-off.

This was it. It was all or nothing now. She took a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. This was right. This was fair. She did her job. That's what mattered.

When she opened up again, she looked over to Terrance and Dylan, who seemed to be in a heated debate with the Doctor about something that was totally beyond her. She just shook her head and leaned against the edge of her desk.

Suddenly, a _PING _sound went off. Tammi turned back to her screen and saw that it was an email from Mrs. Ratfield. She wasted no time in opening it up and reading it with incredible speed.

_To: TammiTron012_

_Subject: In Response to 'EMERGENCY!'_

_Message: Dear TammiTron012,_

_Thank you for bringing this unusual matter to my attention. I assure you that there is absolutely nothing wrong. I am simply adding some new, minor changes and have failed to remind you all to message the others. I take full responsibility for the game freezing up and for the halt in registration. I apologize. As for the Doctor and Clara… delete them. They are obviously lying through their teeth and are a threat to the game. Thank you again for your assistance._

_Sincerely,_

_Mrs. Ratfield_

**Uh oh! I wonder what's gonna happen next! Keep on following me to find out. Thank you and good night! (Or good day... whatever floats your boat.)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Good morning! Or good night for all of you night owls! :-) I know this is a little late to be posting a new chapter but I've just had the busiest day today! But I didn't want to keep all of you waiting so... here it is! Chapter 7! Enjoy!**

"No. No. NO!" the Doctor cried at the camera, flinging his arms in the air angrily. "I'm telling you my TARDIS can outrun any of your newly-discovered time-traveling ships! I don't care how advanced they are to today's world!"

"OK. FIRST YOU CALL IT A 'MOBILE PHONE'…" Dylan's voice came through, "NOW YOU'RE CALLING IT A 'TARDIS'. WHAT THE HELL IS IT?"

"Specifically, yes, she's called the 'TARDIS'. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. The _biggest _spaceship in the… galaxy. To really understand how big she is, imagine the biggest spaceship you've ever seen." He gave the two boys a few seconds to think about it before saying, "You got it?"

"YES," Dylan was the first to reply.

"YES," Terrance followed.

"Well forget it," the Doctor snapped. "That's how big she is."

He could hear the boys curse under their breath and imagined their eyes widening in surprise and amazement. That made him smile a little. It surprised even him how many people he could impress.

"WHAT DOES THIS 'TARDIS' LOOK LIKE?" Terrance asked.

"A police box," the Doctor said without hesitation, jamming his hands in his pockets coolly.

Clara, who stood patiently behind the Doctor, shook her head and rolled her eyes. _What an idiot he can be! _she said in her head. She kept her head firmly down against the palm of her hand as she heard Terrance ask, "BUT… YOU JUST SAID IT WAS THE BIGGEST SPACESHIP IN THE GALAXY. AND, FROM WHAT I RECALL, A POLICE BOX BACK THEN WAS RATHER…. SMALL. SO, HOW COULD IT BE BOTH BIG AND SMALL AT THE SAME TIME?"

"It's bigger on the inside and smaller on the outside," Clara said, still keeping her head down as she tried to keep a headache from coming on. In the past two minutes, the Doctor had managed to talk about everything and anything with Terrance and Dylan. From technology to history and, now, to time-traveling. Her brain was really starting to get fried by all of this complicated information.

"WHAT?" Terrance asked, obviously confused.

"I DON'T GET IT," Dylan added.

"Ah, I'll have to introduce you all to her sometime. Quite a sight to see!" the Doctor said.

Clara rubbed her temples and moaned a little. She couldn't wait to get out of this game and sit in a nice warm bubble bath, erasing all memory of this place as best as she could.

Suddenly, she heard a girl voice call out, "HEY." Tammi. _Thank God! _Clara thought as she lifted her head up and jogged over to the Doctor's side. "Hey, Tammi!" she exclaimed, a bright smile plastered on her face. "So what's up?"

"WELL…" Tammi began hesitantly. Just that one word and its delivery sent a gut-wrenching inside Clara's stomach. Her smile dropped as well as any hope that was in her eyes. "I'VE JUST GOTTEN A MESSAGE BACK FROM MRS. RATFIELD. AND… SHE SAYS THAT THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE GAME. ALL SHE'S DOING IS ADDING MORE CHANGES. SHE USUALLY ALERTS US TO MESSAGE THE OTHERS WHEN SHE'S DOING THIS,… BUT SHE SAYS SHE FORGOT. BELIEVE ME… SHE TAKES FULL REPONSIBILITY FOR THE PEOPLE FREEZING UP."

"Right," the Doctor muttered under his breath. Clara caught on to it and took a quick look at him. His eyes were glued to the lens. No emotion was evident on his face. His lips were tightly pursed together. He was thinking. Hard.

"Ok," Clara began, hesitating herself. "That's… one problem solved. But... What about us?"

For a long while, Tammi didn't reply. That made Clara nervous. Extremely nervous. So nervous she had to hold on to the Doctor's arm for support. He didn't react or move. He just stood there, frozen himself.

A deep and loud sigh came through, followed by, "THAT'S THE THING. UM…. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY THIS GENTLY, SO… I'LL JUST SAY IT…. MRS. RATFIELD WANTS ME TO DELETE YOU BOTH."

Clara gasped.

_WHAT?!_ _HOW?! WHY?! _

She didn't notice how tight her grip had gotten within the last two seconds. But the Doctor never said anything. He just stared on blankly.

"I'M… I'M SORRY," Tammi tried, her voice cracking just a little. "I… I DON'T WANT TO DELETE YOU. I DON'T. I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ALL OF THIS. I KNOW YOU'RE NOT LYING."

"I know," the Doctor finally got out, sounding rather cold and harsh. "But I believe you should be less concerned about us, and more concerned about Mrs. Ratfield. It's obvious that she's the one who's lying."

"What?" Clara found herself saying, trying to look straight into the Doctor's eyes to make sure he was serious.

"WHAT?" Tammi asked, equally confused as Clara.

"Mrs. Ratfield. I take it she's the head of 'MyAlternative'. Correct?" the Doctor went on.

"THAT'S RIGHT," Tammi said. "SHE'S THE CREATOR."

"And as the creator it's her job to, as you would say, 'update the game' with all the latest gadgets and sights and ideas that have popped into her head."

"YES."

"But before she does this, she must message you, Terrance, and Dylan to alert the other players and make sure they are logged off while these changes are taking place. Correct?"

"YES."

"She's never forgotten to message you before. Never. True?"

Tammi hesitated for a second, but finally got back on track. "YES."

"So tell me this…" the Doctor started, slowly making his way toward the camera. Clara freed his arm from her grasp and watched him with wondering eyes. "Why would she forget now?"

_Wow, _Clara thought. It made sense but, then, it didn't make sense at the same time. Then again, only the Doctor could figure out the whole story. The trouble was… was he right?

"YOU DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW BUSY MRS. RATFIELD IS," Terrance tried to explain. "SHE HAS MEETINGS IN THE REAL WORLD THAT SHE MUST ATTEND. PARTIES WHERE SHE MUST SHAKE HANDS AND TALK BUSINESS. PAPERS WITH OTHER COMPANIES THAT SHE MUST SIGN TO GET THE FUNDING FOR THE GAME. ALL OF THAT PLUS CHECKING UP ON THE GAME AND US TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS RUNNING SMOOTHLY. IT CAN TAKE IT'S TOLL."

"But Mrs. Ratfield is smart," the Doctor counteracted, not giving up for one second. "Smart enough to juggle all of that and then some. She's never forgotten before. NEVER. So why now? WHY NOW?! It's quite obvious that she's hiding something."

"NOW WAIT A MINUTE…" Tammi broke in defensively.

"Doctor, please…" Clara whispered, taking small steps towards him. She didn't want another conflict to arise. Especially since they were so close to death already.

"No. Really. Think about it," he went on, not looking away for anything. "The most highly-praised woman in the world and in the game FORGET to simply send a small, one-paragraph message to her three little secretaries? Highly unlikely. It's obvious that she's connected to all of this. Somehow. Someway. She's connected…."

"STOP! STOP RIGHT NOW!" Tammi bellowed. It was evident that either Dylan or Terrance was trying to calm her down because then she began yelling, "NO! NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! HE IS DISRESPECTING OUR BOSS, THE CREATOR OF THE MOST POPULAR GAME IN THE WORLD TODAY, FOR GOD'S SAKE! SO, NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! LOOK, IT IS ONE THING TO POINT OUT THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG. BUT CONNECTING SOMEONE LIKE MRS. RATFIELD TO IT ALL IS TAKING IT UP TO A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL! YOU KNOW WHAT? MAYBE I SHOULD DELETE YOU BOTH. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT…."

"HELP! PLEASE HELP! PLEASE!"

The Doctor and Clara snapped their heads towards the desperate voice. Up ahead, running along the street, came a boy who looked to be dressed in all white with a pink windbreaker tied around his neck. As he got closer, more and more features became present. He had a young face, short blonde hair, light-green eyes, and a well-built figure. The Doctor and Clara looked at each other, both confused and amazed. Right then and there, they went with there instincts and ran towards the boy. The camera moved with them, closing in on the strange sight.

"Hey!" the Doctor called out just as they were growing closer and closer to the boy. "Hey! Hey! Hey!"

He finally caught the boy as he collapsed to the ground, sucking in as much air as he could as he let his bones rest. Clara gently laid her hands on the boy as she asked him, "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

"My friends," the boy tried to say in between gasps. "We were… having… Barbie… then, they just… stopped… they were frozen… I tried… to get help…. But… everyone on…. Block was…. Frozen. Everyone."

The Doctor and Clara looked up at one another in amazement. How was this possible? _How?!_

**But... wasn't everyone in the game supposed to be frozen...? Hmm... Questions. Questions. Please review and keep following me on this amazing mystery. And be sure to keep an eye out for an all new "Doctor Who" story! COMING SOON! ;-)**


	8. Chapter 8

**HEY YA'LL! Bet you all thought I forgot about you... BUT I DIDN'T! I've just been REALLY busy today. Even in the summer, I have plans! :-) By the way, in regards to people getting confused by my frequent use of CAPS LOCK, I have decided to use CAPS LOCK only when Tammi, the Doctor, or any other character is actually YELLING! Whenever Tammi or anyone else is talking through the speakers, I'll use _italics. _Got it? Good! Anyway, here's Chapter 8. ENJOY!**

"No," the Doctor said, almost to himself. "That's not right. It's not… possible. It's a game. Just a bloody game. If one thing goes wrong, the whole game suffers. So this… No."

Clara looked at him pleadingly, wanting an explanation but knowing she might not get one. So, instead, she turned back to the boy and asked him, "What's you're name?"

"Ralph," the boy said, shakily.

"Ok, Ralph," Clara began, gently, her hand still resting on the his shoulder. "Listen. We're not here to hurt you. We're here to help in any way we can. Now, you say that your friends became frozen. How exactly did they get frozen?"

"I don't know," Ralph said, his eyes scrambling every which way except in Clara's direction, "I mean… one minute we were laughing and jumping around like a bunch of wild dingoes and then the next, they just… stopped. Completely."

Although he had walked a short ways away and began running his hand through his hair multiple times, the Doctor hung on to Ralph's every word. His mind began processing and analyzing it all, trying to look at it from all angles.

"Ok. Ok," Clara said, trying to sound calming even though her whole head and heart was thumping so rapidly. "Um… can you… can you stand?"

"Hold on," Ralph urged, grabbing onto Clara's arm and staggering to his feet. Clara hung onto him and helped pull him up. Once he was moving and walking around again, Clara couldn't help but notice that he was an inch taller than her.

"All right?" she asked, giving Ralph his distance. He turned to look her in the eyes and nodded truthfully.

"Alright," she repeated, stepping just a little bit closer to him. "So, uh… you-you said you went to find help. Right?"

"Yeah. Yeah,' Ralph replied. "I… I tried everyone on our street. But they were all just frozen. I was so scared…."

"It's ok Ralph," Clara tried, placing her hands in front of her and aiming for Ralph's arms. She gradually got there, and rested them on top, comfortingly. "Now are you sure you didn't see… or hear anyone else who may have… not been frozen."

"No," was his simple reply, before he raised his head to look Clara in the eyes again. "I swear I…"

He stopped mid-sentence. His mouth hung open and his eyes looked straight on, not blinking.

"Ralph?" Clara asked, suddenly realizing how stiff his arms felt now compared to before. "Ralph?!" She looked down and noticed his feet were planted firmly instead of fidgeting. "Doctor?!" she called, swinging herself around to see if the Doctor was still in sight. He was. He looked from Ralph to Clara and then back again.

"You saw it too?" Clara asked, carefully.

"Yes," he replied, grimly, his eyes growing wild and fierce. "See?!" he suddenly exclaimed, turning back towards the camera and pointing back at Ralph. "This just PROVES that there is something more going on in here!"

_"No," _Tammi's voice choked through the speakers. _"No. No!"_

"You know it's true," the Doctor tested. "If one thing goes wrong in this game, the whole game gets effected. But not him. Not Ralph. He wasn't like the others. He wasn't frozen. So, maybe he got chosen. Maybe he was special. But, then, someone decided 'Oops! No good. Goodbye!' and froze him, too. Someone with the power to choose. To delete. To create. Seems to me the only person capable of having that power would be… Mrs. Ratfield."

_"NO!" _Tammi yelled, her scream making the speakers give a small _POP!_

"Tammi!" Clara called, running pas the Doctor to get closer to the camera. "Please! I know this is hard to understand. Especially since you've been working with this woman for so long. But you have to understand that there _is _the possibility that she is doing this."

_"NO!" _Tammi yelled again, her voice cracking dramatically.

For a minute there was the sound of muffled voices and, then, silence. Clara took a deep sigh and shut her eyes for a moment. "Poor girl."

* * *

"NO! NO! NO!" Tammi yelled, hopping up from Terrance's seat and running over to the opposite end of the office. She was surprised she was able to maneuver past all of the fat wires and loose ends. Not that it mattered. What mattered was getting as far away from that Doctor as possible.

"Tammi! Please!" Terrance pleaded, following her. Dylan went on the other side and tried, "Tammi. Just calm down."

"NO!" Tammi screeched, putting her hands firmly over her ears and crouching as far into the corner as she could. "SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"DAMN IT TAMMI!" Terrance yelled, finally catching up with her and grabbing her wrists. "LISTEN TO US!" Tammi looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. Her mouth felt so dry and her whole body was shaking.

"Why?" she asked, quietly at first. Then she tried again, a little bit louder, "_Why?! _Why this? Why now? _WHY?!"_

Terrance could only stare blankly into her grey eyes and hold onto her wrists for support. Dylan remained standing, looking at Tammi with a mixture of pity and confusion. Nothing like this has happened before. To any of them. They've been give specific instructions by Mrs. Ratfield on what to do and when. Nowhere did she talk about a situation like this happening.

They may have been very smart… but they weren't very bright.

They also weren't very good at dramatic emotions.

Tammi felt like crying. She was close to crying. But she couldn't cry. It just didn't feel right. It was so…. different to her. All she could do was sniffle and dry her eyes, once Terrance let go of her wrists. He placed his hands on his knees now, still keeping his balance on his toes while looking directly at her.

After a few more gulps and sniffles, Tammi composed herself enough to get out, "I'm sorry."

"I know," Terrance whispered.

"Yeah, me too," Dylan piped up, finishing his walk towards the two and settling himself next to Terrance. He took one of Tammi's hands and said, "Look, Tammi, I know we're used to fun and games around here. Hell, I know we could do our job _blindfolded, _that's how good I know we are. You remember what our job is?" He gave Tammi a few seconds before going on. "We _help _people. Whenever they need help, we're there to guide them. Now, they need our help. More than ever now. We have to guide them. We. Have. To. Help. Them."

Terrance nodded respectfully. He couldn't have put it better himself.

Tammi followed each syllable that left Dylan's lips.

He was right.

He may be goofy at times.

He can be down-right freaking creepy at times, too.

But he was right.

With a newfound determination and purpose, she bolted up from her spot and pushed past the boys. After another round of skillful maneuvering, she finally reached Terrance's computer screen. The Doctor and Clara were still visible but, just to be safe, Tammi called out, "DOCTOR? YOU STILL THERE?"

"Yep," the Doctor responded, emphasizing the 'p' while looking up at the camera lens. He took a few baby steps forward and asked, "You still there?"

Tammi smirked a little before saying, "YES. I AM. I'M SORRY ABOUT MY OUTBURST. IT'S JUST THAT….." She hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words to explain herself. She, immediately, shook her head and went on. "NEVER MIND. THAT'S NOT THE POINT ANYMORE. THE POINT IS, SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG HERE IN THIS GAME. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. WE DON'T KNOW WHY IT'S HAPPENING. WE DON'T EVEN KNOW _WHO'S_ DOING THIS. ALL WE KNOW IS THAT IT'S HAPPENING _NOW , _AND WE NEED TO STOP IT."

"Agreed," the Doctor said, his hands in his pockets, his feet planted.

"Agreed," Clara added, standing next to the Doctor defensively.

"GOOD," Tammi said. "NOW…. I DON'T DO THIS OFTEN…. MAINLY BECAUSE I'M NOT FACED WITH THIS KIND OF DILEMMA EVERYDAY…. BUT, SEEING AS HOW YOU MIGHT KNOW A BIT MORE THAN WE DO ABOUT HANDLING THIS, I'M NOT GOING TO DELETE YOU."

"Ah!' Clara exclaimed, bringing up a smile and a gleam in her eyes. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"BUT," Tammi put in, "IF YOU TWO EVEN _THINK _ABOUT TURNING ON US, I SWEAR TO GOD, I'LL DELETE YOU FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY 'MOBILE PHONE'. GOT IT?"

Clara clammed her mouth and nodded her head solemnly.

For a time, the Doctor didn't move. He just stared up at the camera, his face blank. Tammi, Terrance, Dylan, and Clara held their breath, waiting anxiously but patiently to see if the Doctor was going to blink.

Not three seconds later, he blinked.

"You have my word… that me and Clara will do _everything _in our power to help save your game."

All of them sighed with relief.

Finally, they were getting somewhere!

"ALL RIGHT," Tammi began again, "NOW THAT THAT'S THAT, I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO ANALYZE THIS A LITTLE MORE. AND THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS WOULD BE TO MEET FACE TO FACE."

"Ok!" the Doctor exclaimed, taking his hands out and rubbing his hands together excitedly. He started jumping and running up and down the street like a giddy child. "So, _where_ do you want to meet? The diner? Ooo, on second thought… bad idea. How about… the library? Or the community pool? Or… the zoo? Surely you have a zoo? Filled with exotic pets like koalas and elephants and…. Gophers?"

Clara just stood in place, her arms crossed across her chest, her face giving off another _Really?_

"ACTUALLY," Tammi stated, "I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER IF WE MEET HERE. ALL OF THE RECORDS AND DATA ARE HERE. WE HAVE COMPUTERS FOR RESEARCHING. WE'LL HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF GETTING SOME ACTUAL WORK DONE IF YOU COME TO THE ADMINSTRATIVE BUILDING."

"Hmm," the Doctor said, stopping in place and giving a small, disappointing pout. However, he gave in and said, "All right. The Administrative Building it is! Come on, Clara!" And with that, he grabbed Clara's hand and began running up the street, all the while yelling, "TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING!"

Tammi, Terrance, and Dylan broke out into a fit of smiles and giggles. They were, suddenly, interrupted by the Doctor running back up to the camera, Clara in tow, asking sheepishly, "Where is the Administrative Building?"

**HEHEHE! Had to leave this chapter on a good note! Please read and review and keep on giving me good, strong criticism. It only helps me get better and better! And be sure to check out my new story, "The Human Dalek." Oooooo...!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi everyone! So... I know it's been a few days since my last update (FOREVER if you're a true FanFiction follower) and... I don't what else to say except I've been feeling kind of 'blah' these past few days. That and I've had a bit of writer's block. But I'm back, baby! And as a really special surprise to all of my viewers and followers, in this chapter, we don't get to go into the Doctor or Tammi's POV. No... we take a look at one of our other characters. Perhaps the most important one of all...**

Mrs. Ratfield leaned forward in her chair as she checked her computer screen again. A map of all of the game's different worlds was shown, along with several scattered red dots.

_Damn! _she thought. _How many more bloody kids could possibly be active?! _

She'd thought that the connection would've reached the others by now.

She moved her old, worn-out hand onto her mouse and began clicking and checking all of the places that had a red dot. Out in the country, three young boys were shown running across some of the fields towards the station that might lead them to the city. One of the boys suddenly stopped, his arms hung out in the air and his mouth opened wide for air. The other two quickly turned around to check on him. They did everything they could to wake him up, slapping his cheeks and kicking his legs. Mrs. Ratfield couldn't help but smile an evil grin at the sight in front of her.

Her excitement, thought, soon faded, and she moved on to the city world. The suburban neighborhoods that lied just a few blocks away from the Administrative Building showed no signs of activity. Just frozen people. She moved on to the library, the school, the diner. All was still. She soon began getting that special twinkle in her eye that only came from a tremendous increase in progress.

She, then, checked out the street where one of the bus stations stood.

What she saw slapped the grin off her face and left her eyes hard and dry.

There, on the bench next to the station sign, sat a man. A young man. A young, weird-looking man.

Standing next to him was a woman. A young woman. A young, equally weird-looking woman.

She began tapping her foot impatiently with her arms crossed and was saying something to the man. All he did was give a short reply while shooing her away with his hand.

"Well, well, well," Mrs. Ratfield said, placing her hands in front of her as her hawk eyes stared intently at the two strangers. "What do we have here? Perhaps a doctor and his assistant…?"

They weren't supposed to be here.

At least not anymore.

She had emailed Tammi less than five minutes ago. Could it really take that long to delete something (or somebody) from the system?

Mrs. Ratfield knew not.

So, she exited the window and opened up her email. She looked up Tammi's address and began typing furiously.

_To: TammiTron012_

_Subject: I Need You To Do Your Job_

_Message: Dear TammiTron012,_

_It has come to my attention that you have not yet deleted this Doctor and his companion. I urge you to quickly figure out a way to get rid of him as soon as possible. I have put a lot of time and effort into building and running 'MyAlternative'. Who knows what kind of trouble and problems he may bring to the game. He could destroy everything I've worked for. Everything we've done together. I know you would not want that burden on your shoulders._

_Sincerely,_

_Mrs. Ratfield_

SEND.

With that, Mrs. Ratfield leaned back in her chair, rubbing her hands together to relieve the ache they were getting from typing so roughly. She looked up to the bare ceiling and closed her eyes. The only sound audible was her constant breathing going up and down.

She kept telling herself that everything was fine.

Everything was going according to plan.

The kids were getting reached.

Their minds were slowly being harnessed into the game.

Soon, they would all be here.

Here in the game.

With her.

No parents.

No rules.

No _Doctor. _

He was nothing.

Just a weed in the ground.

A weed that could be easily plucked at a moment's notice.

She wasn't worried.

Not one little bit.

Why should she be?

She was smart.

She was _brilliant_.

She had everything planned.

Everything to the last detail.

Everything was going according to plan.

Everything was fine.

Fine.

…

Fine.

**Ohhhh... I see now we're getting somewhere! Please read, review, follow, favorite, do anything you can to show your support. THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!**


	10. Chapter 10

**LONG TIME, NO SEE FELLOW FANFICTION FOLLOWERS! Don't worry, I have a perfectly good explanation for my absence... I've been feeling pretty... lazy these past couple of weeks. That and I've had a bit of writer's block. But mostly I think I've been feeling lazy. Anyway I'm _really really_ sorry for keeping all of my followers waiting. ****And I was going to write three new chapters back-to-back as a special gift... but, honestly, I just don't have the strength nor the ****creativity to pull off something like that, so I'm just gonna do this new chapter. Hope it makes up for everything! Enjoy!**

"Wait, so is that a right or a left we take right here?"

Clara just rolled her eyes as she watched the Doctor stand in the middle of a two-way street, looking both left and right.

They were lost. She knew that ten minutes ago. Even though the trip was only supposed to take a "hop, skip, and a jump!" (according to Tammi).

"_I told you!" _Tammi yelled from above Clara's head, obviously frustrated and tired. Clara could just picture her now, leaning over her desk, head in hand, eyes popping out of her head….

"_You walk straight down that road! Wait until you get to the boutique at the end!"_

The voice snapped both the Doctor and Clara out of their thoughts. "Ok! Ok!" the Doctor surrendered, throwing his hands up and walking over to the post Clara was leaning on. "So, which one is the boutique?! You know, all of these stores sort of look the same!"

Clara had to agree with him on that one. In the last few minutes, she had counted four stores that had the same color, same window sizes, same doorframe, everything. She also couldn't help but notice that close to all of the stores didn't have signs. _Well, this IS a GAME, _she figured. _They all must be for show._

"_It's pink," _Tammi began describing, "_with long, tall windows and a long, tall doorway."_

"Great," Clara uttered, arms still folded across her chest. "Pink store. Tall windows. Tall doorway. There aren't a million of those in this game."

"_Doesn't it have mannequins in the windows?" _Dylan's voice chimed in.

"_Yeah! It does!" _Terrance declared.

"Ok! So that narrows it down then!" the Doctor exclaimed, turning around (which made his tweed jacket twirl in the wind) and walking down along the street. "Pink store full of mannequins. There most _definitely _aren't a million of those in this game."

Clara followed quickly behind him, looking left, right, and occasionally at the Doctor. "You sure about this? Going on and meeting these people?"

"I already gave them my word, Clara," he said without looking directly at her. "Besides, what have I said before? We don't walk away. Especially now, since we're already so involved."

Clara thought about this for a moment. "Right," she said without realizing it escaped her mouth.

He was right.

THIS was right.

Helping people. Saving them. Saving the world. Even though this wasn't a _real _world.

Nevertheless, there was trouble around the corner.

And it's up to her and the Doctor to find it.

"Ah!" the Doctor cried, jumping up in surprise and rushing over to one of the pink stores to his left. "Here we are!" Clara hastily settled in next to him and fixed her gaze on the sight before them both.

There, sitting at the edge of the corner of the street, was the boutique. And it was exactly as Tammi and Dylan described it. Bright pink bricks made up the exterior. A big sign hung above that practically screamed out "BOUTIQUE!". The tall, vaguely-pinked windows showed mannequins that were dressed in rather tacky attire. The doorframe held a simple door with a little bell attached up top and a "OPEN" sign in the middle.

"_Very _realistic, if I do say so myself," the Doctor boasted, sarcastically, Clara soon caught on.

"So, where do we go from here?" she asked, looking around for the Administrative Building.

"Uh…." the Doctor stuttered, holding his hand up towards his brain as if to extract the information directly. But, after a few seconds, "I don't know. Tammi didn't say. All she told us to do was find the boutique."

"_And now…!" _Tammi's voice rung out, making the madman and his companion jump up in shock and look frantically around for the whereabouts of the voice. Clara quickly spotted another camera sitting atop a post on the sidewalk on the other side. "There!" she cried, pointing towards it.

The Doctor whipped his head and smiled a bright smile. "Yes!" he exclaimed, running up closer towards the post. "Good work, Clara! You found Waldo. So, Tammi, what now?"

"_Take a left here and keep walking," _ Tammi instructed. "_A big building should show up with a plaque in the middle of the grass that says 'MyAdministrativeBuilding'."_

"And you're sure this building will surely stand out amongst the others?" Clara couldn't help but ask.

"It's the only Administrative Building in the game," Terrance pointed out. "It _has _to stand out."

"Yeah!" Dylan added. "Otherwise, how else would people like you know where to go to with their problems?"

"Point taken," Clara admitted.

"So left here. Look out for a plaque in the grass," the Doctor repeated, clapping his hands together. "Got it! Let's be off!"

And with that, the Doctor spun around towards the boutique and ran as fast as he could past it and any other store that stood to his left. Clara quickly followed behind him, suddenly getting a slight pain in her left foot. _Probably should've chosen more comfortable shoes, _she said to herself before yelling out, "Doctor? Doctor! Slow down! My feet are already killing-".

All of a sudden, she found herself bumping up into the Doctor's back. She fumbled backwards a few steps before catching herself and moving more slowly towards the Doctor's side. She really hadn't paid much attention to her surroundings while running, which is why she couldn't help but look up at the Doctor's face first to try and find some sort of reason for stopping.

"Doctor?" she asked, confused.

"There it is," he whispered, his eyes and facial expression totally blank. She followed his gaze and became expressionless herself.

There, right in front of them, stood the Administrative Building. Tall, at most, maybe, twenty stories high. Built entirely from gray bricks. Two levels of stairs led them to the two enormous glass doors that separated them from the inside. All of the windows were four-paned with black frames. The grass was short and cut to perfection. In the middle, just where Tammi said it was, stood a six/seven foot tall, black-marbled plaque with the words "MyAdministrativeBuilding" across the top in gold.

"Wow," Clara said, suddenly getting goose bumps at the mere word. "Much…much different than what I expected."

"_What'd you expect?"_ Terrance's voice shot out through whatever silence was left. "_Another pink shop with mannequins in the windows?"_

"_Hey, man_!" Dylan pleaded. "_That's my job around here!"_

The Doctor and Clara couldn't help but smile widely as they ran hurriedly up the stairs and towards yet another black camera that hung slightly above the double doors.

"Why hello again!" the Doctor said, waving into the camera with a bright gleam in his eyes. "So…" The Doctor looked both left and right before adding, "Where's the party?! Where are you guys?"

Clara couldn't help but quickly look around for the computer trio. They were nowhere in sight. _Odd, _she thought. "Yeah," she found herself saying out loud. "I thought we all agreed to meet here."

"_Well,…. I thought you two were just gonna…" _Tammi came on, _"you know, come on up."_

"Yes, I guess we could've," the Doctor agreed. "But couldn't you all just….you know, come down here yourselves?"

Clara made a face about how silly this was. But, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense in a way. Why didn't Tammi, Terrance, and Dylan just come down to meet them at the door? Not that it was a big deal, of course. All Clara wanted to do was get down to business. But, still….something about it just seemed a little…off.

Then, just then, a horrible thought crossed Clara's mind.

Was it a trap?

Was that it?

Were they both going to go inside only to be plunged downward into some underground dungeon? Was there an alien lurking inside the building waiting until they got close enough fro him to strike? Were there secretly robots inside wanting to lure them in a convert the Doctor and Clara into robots?

After everything she and the Doctor have been through, Clara was preparing for the impossible to happen.

What brought on even more suspicion was the eerie and tense silence that followed the Doctor's observation.

As if by habit, Clara slowly inched herself towards to Doctor and grabbed his hand. She gave him a small squeeze and he returned the favor, a reassurance that everything was fine. For now.

They could faintly hear the three teens going, "_Uh_….." simultaneously. Right now, they were probably looking at each other and shrugging their shoulders like complete idiots.

"Tammi," the Doctor said slowly, keeping his eyes focused on the lens. Clara could tell he was trying not to sound too suspicious but failing miserably. "Terrance. Dylan. Why don't you all come down here?"

A sigh was heard over the intercom, then Tammi's reply. "_We can't_."

"Why not?" Clara piped up, curiously.

"_Because…. Because we don't know how."_

**WHAT?! All questions will be answered in Chapter 11! Well, not all, but maybe some gosh-darn important ones! :-) Keep reviewing and following. Seriously, guys, I hate to disappoint people. I am SOOO sorry if I've disappointed any of you. You all have made me so happy with all of your views and comments. I'll try to keep you updated much much sooner than I have been. You can count on ME! Good night!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! I'm back! I know. I know. Settle down, children. Now, earlier in my last chapter, I mentioned how i wanted to write multiple chapters back-to-back as a gift to all of my viewers and followers. At the time, I was low on creativity. But tonight, I'm feeling lucky... That's right! I'm gonna do TWO full chapters back-to-back just for ya'll! Hope you enjoy!**

Clara's eyes widened with surprise at Tammi's remark.

_We don't know how._

"What?" she asked, too quietly to be heard, unfortunately.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor tried.

Another sigh was heard, but this time Dylan's voice came on afterwards. "_Our job is… to help people. We…. get them registered and set up. We help them with…. questions and problems. We basically spend all day, everyday at our computers. So…. We really don't have time to…. go out."_

"You mean," Clara spoke up again, this time louder, "you've been….. Imprisoned this whole time?"

_"Not imprisoned!" _Terrance exclaimed rather quickly. "_No! No! We've just… never actually experienced…. life on the outside, you know?"_

"No," the Doctor replied grimly. "I'm afraid we don't."

"_Oh," _Terrance said, sounding surprised at the Doctor's straightforwardness.

"So, what you're saying is," Clara tried again, "you….. _can't _help us."

"_We never said that!" _Tammi exclaimed. "_Look, we'll still be able to communicate through the speakers. We'll just… look up the information here, pass it on to you, and leave you to your observations."_

"There's no time for that!" Clara begged.

"Clara's right," the Doctor stated. "We'll get done much faster if we meet face-to-face and see the information for ourselves."

"But since you can't even leave your own office…." Clara began.

"_Who said we couldn't leave?" _Terrance asked_._

"You did."

"_No…" _Tammi said, rather slowly, "_I said we didn't know _how _to leave. I never said we _couldn't _leave."_

"Then do it," the Doctor said. "Come on down. Show yourselves."

"_We don't. Know. How!" _Tammi punctuated.

_"Yeah,"_ Dylan added. "_I'm not even sure this door is unlocked."_

Suddenly, a small _CLICK _was heard over the speakers with the creaking of a door shortly following it.

"Oh,"

Dylan said, even though his voice sounded faint. He was probably out of range.

"Smart woman," the Doctor muttered, sarcastically.

"Yeah, really" Clara agreed, nudging the Doctor on the arm and sharing a small grin with him.

"_Uh…. Ok. Yeah," _Terrance's voice said out loud. There was a good possibility that he was staring at the office door in utter amazement, as if watching that office door open was the single greatest discovery of his life. Tammi and Dylan were probable feeling the same way, mouths hung open, eyes wide with wonder, muscles tense.

Nothing more was said until, suddenly, the clearing of someone's throat was heard and Tammi came back onto the intercom. "_Ok. So, we've just found out that our office door is….wide, _wide _open. So… we _are _going to come down and see you two. Face-to-face."_

"Good!" the Doctor cheered, balling up his fists and holding them high in the air. "Good! Good! Good!"

"_But…." _Tammi butted in again, "_We're only halfway." _

The Doctor stopped for a moment and looked back up to the camera. Clara stepped forward a little so she was closer to him and asked Tammi, "I'm sorry?"

"_Me and the boys are only going halfway through the building," _Tammi explained. "_You and the Doctor have to come up the rest of the way. Once we meet up, we'll head back to our office to figure this out."_

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" the Doctor asked.

"_How do we know _you_ don't have a trap set up for _us_?" _Tammi countered.

The Doctor considered this for a moment. Damn, that TammiTron012 was sharp.

"Touché," he replied with a grin.

"Doctor," Clara began, cautiously, grabbing his arm and pulling him in close. "Are you still sure about this?"

He looked at Clara long and hard, going past her eyes and into her soul. "Yes," he said.

Every time he did that, Clara knew she could trust him. And with that, she gave a small nod and turned back with him at the camera.

"All right," the Doctor said, quite louder than expected. "We're coming in."

"_And we're coming down," _Tammi said.

The Doctor nodded and took slow steps toward the door. He could feel Clara sliding her hand into his once again and he grabbed onto it and squeezed it tight. He put on his bravest face, reached for the door handle, and swung the door open.

_Well….. Here goes._

**OH BOY! Chapter 12 to follow shortly, so don't go anywhere!**


	12. Chapter 12

**YELLO! CHAPTER 12 IS OFFICIALLY (Drumrollllllll) POSTED! YOU'RE WELCOME!**

Tammi felt so stupid right now.

So FREAKIN' stupid.

The door was open the whole time.

The WHOLE TIME.

After Dylan reached for that door knob, turned it, and opened the office door, a whole rush of feelings and possibilities opened inside of her.

First, she felt surprised. When she first started working for "MyAlternative", she would often forget Mrs. Ratfield's rule about emailing her and would jump up from her chair and run over to the door. She would barely have a chance to turn the knob before Terrance reminded her and, with a shrug, Tammi would go back to her seat. After a while, it became natural to send an email and she forgot about the door completely, except for when she would lean against it during one of her few breaks.

Then, she felt angry. She felt that plenty of times. Every time one of the boys was getting on her nerves or there was an irate player who was trash-talking her, she felt like slamming something. She felt like slamming something so hard that A) all of the windows in the building cracked; B) the whole WORLD could hear it and feel her frustration; and C) all of her anger, her pain, her feelings would drift away. High above her head. But… she couldn't. She had gotten so use to not using the door that all she could do was yell at her screen and kick some of the wires around in a blinding rage. She couldn't just walk out the door and slam it dramatically as she stood outside and cried her eyes out.

But that really wasn't what the anger feeling was about. It was about Tammi being enraged at Mrs. Ratfield…for lying to her. For making Tammi suspect her for longer than a minute. For making all of the Doctor's accusations….seem truer than true.

To a normal human being, the thought of someone being mad at someone else about a door that wasn't even locked was just plain weird.

But to Tammi, it was more than just a locked door.

It was a gateway to all of the possibilities she could only _dream _about.

Which is why her next feeling… was one of desire.

Whenever she would spy on the other players with Terrance and Dylan, watching them walk around holding hands, shopping non-stop, eating ice cream, running around chasing each other, laughing and cracking up together, she thought about what _she _would do if she got a chance to walk among them. She could just picture herself going out with some of her "girlfriends", eating some bad Mexican food, buying a new shirt or new shoes (her Rocket Dogs were tearing from all of her kicking). Maybe even catching a movie with Terrance….

SO many possibilities swarmed in her head. Of what she _could _be doing. What she really _SHOULD _be doing.

But no.

Instead, she was stuck in the office behind a closed door.

She didn't have a say.

All she was supposed to do was answer to the people, email if there were any problems, and have a nice day.

But all of that changes….. NOW.

"Hey," Terrance said, quietly, shaking Tammi's shoulder lightly.

She snapped her head up and looked at Terrance in the eyes. Those big, brown, beautiful eyes of his. God, how good he can make her feel with that look. Like he could make all of her pain go away.

She attempted a smile but found her mouth wasn't cooperating with her and so all her face showed was the look of a lost puppy. Terrance could only give a small, somewhat silent sigh as he said, "Are you ready?"

She took another few seconds to look at him before turning to acknowledge Dylan, who stood in between the inside of the office and the hallway, holding the door open wide for all three of them.

Finally, she looked out the door.

The floor was entirely brown marble while the walls were coated in light-brown paint. There was what looked to be the edge of another office door on the right side, but it was too small to tell for sure.

Is that what the outside really looked like?

Is this what she's been missing?

Only one way to find out.

"Yes."

Her own loud voice startled her as she got up slowly, walked past the cautious Terrance, past Dylan the Doorman, and landed on the edge of the doorway. She didn't dare look left or right. She just stared forward at the light-brown wall. Dylan and Terrance were right behind her, she could feel it with every fiber and instinct in her body.

They were waiting for her call.

They were waiting for _her_.

_Well…. Here goes._

**WELLLLLL... Now what could possibly happen next...? ;-) Keep viewing, reviewing, and adding this to your favorites list. Thanks to all of those who have already done so. Seriously, you all give me strength and purpose to go on with this story. Chapters are closer than they appear! So check often! Until then...!**


	13. Chapter 13

**HEY! So, I've been feeling really sick these past couple of days. Not cool. BUUUUTTTT... It has given me even _more_ time to write ya'll this new and EXTRA LONG chapter! SOOOO COOL! Enjoy!**

Immediately, the Doctor and Clara's eyes started to roam around the open space that was the inside of the Administrative Building. The floor that they stood on was marble with a brown color to it. The walls were painted a smooth light brown and rose high, _high _above them. The ceiling was flat and bare except for the few lights that hung above their heads. There were flower pots in every available corner that held a small plastic tree. People with their business suits and clipboards or files were standing around, talking to one another or on their phones. Or at least they _looked _like they were. Yes, everyone in the building was, obviously, frozen.

_Should've known, _the Doctor stated in his mind. He kept on roaming his eyes throughout the room while he slowly inched forward. He tugged Clara along with him, and, soon, he could feel her following his every step. At the same time, they looked forward.

The front desk that lied just ahead was marble, as well, with a old-fashioned-looking computer with a keyboard angled on the side, lots of neatly placed files on the other side, a registration book in the middle, and a pen in its pen holder. Behind the desk sat a young lady, who looked to be about thirty, had her very-red hair in a bun, and wore a navy-blue business dress and a headset with a microphone. She, also, looked like she was filling out some paperwork. _Very _stereotypical receptionist, indeed.

"Doctor," Clara whispered, acknowledging the receptionist's presence.

"I know," he said, just as quietly, never taking his eyes off of the front desk.

"You think we should ask her for help?"

The Doctor considered his answer for a few precious seconds. He still kept the 'All-of-this-might-be-a-trap' idea in the back of his mind. The rest of his brain, however, was thinking about how big of a building the place was and how long it would take to even make it _half _halfway to meet the computer geniuses. At this point, _any _kind of help was worth something.

"Worth a try," he replied quietly, leading himself and Clara the rest of the way to the desk.

They were now standing right in front of the receptionist, practically blocking her light, but neither of them said a word. Suddenly, the receptionist looked up from her work and said rather brightly, "Oh! Hello! Welcome to the 'MyAdministrativeBuilding'! I'm Barbra!"

The Doctor smiled. Finally! A happy face around here. He rubbed his hands together and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted with, "I'm here to help you in any way I can! Now, before I say anything else, I'll need to get your username. For verification."

"Ah," the Doctor got out at last. "Well, I'm the Doctor. And this," he gestured to Clara, who gave a small wave to Barbra, "is Clara."

"One moment, please!" Barbra said before turning in her chair towards the computer and typing in the given names.

"Well," the Doctor said, rocking back and forth in anticipation, "this is a good change of pace!"

"Really," Clara said, surprised herself as she looked around the room again. Then, she stopped. An unexpected thought came into her head. She quickly turned back around and grabbed the Doctor's arm, easing him away from the desk.

"Hey!" he squeaked, not sure if he was able to control his body as he followed Clara backwards in shock. "Ow! Ow! Watch the arm!"

"Doctor, I think we have a problem," Clara said hurriedly.

"What?" the Doctor inquired. "Everything seems fine! Barbra, lovely girl, says she's going to help us. We'll be able to get up there, meet the brains and, bing bang boom, sort _everything _out!"

"But, Doctor, first Barbra said she needed our names for verification!"

The Doctor's eyes widened with shocking understanding. "Oh…."

It was in that sentence that he realized what the problem was.

"I'm sorry," Barbra called from behind, making the Doctor and Clara turn theirs heads back around in her direction, "but I can't seem to find your names in the system. No worries, though! Just come back later and try again!" And with that, she automatically went back to her paperwork.

The Doctor and Clara could only stare at her in panic.

"Uh…." the Doctor stuttered, trying to think of some kind of on-the-spot lie he could tell Barbra (because that's what he was best at!) so that he and Clara could move on into the deeper depths of the building. "Actually," he tried again, straightening his jacket and stepping forward a little, "We are from the Union….. Of Advanced… Computer Technology… and Sciences! We're just here to…. Check…. On your amazing game!" Clara nodded her head wildly in agreement and said, "Yes! Oh, yes!" She realized the situation and made no objection to it. This wasn't the first time she and the Doctor had to lie to get their way. She continued the charade as the Doctor went on with the story.

"See, we've been hearing about this 'MyAlternative' for quite some time now. And we must say it's been a rather…. Interesting experience. This is, really, our last stop on our list. Highly recommended. So, we're just going to explore the upstairs a little bit, if you don't mind."

He looked down on Barbra, waiting for a response from her. But she didn't say or do anything. All she did was scribble stuff down on the paper in front of her. In fact, the Doctor wasn't sure that she was really _writing _any comprehensible words.

No matter, he cleared his throat and said, "So…. Right! Ok! Perfect! No need to show us the way. I'm sure me and my associate will be able to find our way around just fine!"

"Associate?!" Clara said, either confused or disgusted, as the Doctor took her by the shoulders and led her to the nearby elevators he had spotted earlier.

"Thank you!" he yelled behind his back. "And have a nice day!"

He scooted along, pushing Clara in front of him. They stopped once they got to the shiny, silver elevator doors. Clara just stood in place, looking above at the wall for something that probably wasn't there, while the Doctor tried pushing some of the buttons on the panel to the left. None of them began blinking as they normally would, and the Doctor could faintly hear Barbra's voice from the front desk saying, "I'm sorry!" He turned to give her his full attention. "If you need to talk to any of our personnel about an issue or problem, you first need to check in at the front desk for verification!" She then turned, once again, back to her paperwork.

"Ugh!" the Doctor yelled, flinging his hands up as he paced. "Great!"

"Now what?" Clara asked, looking around helplessly.

"Well," the doctor rummaged through his jacket until he finally found his trusty sonic screwdriver, "there's always this."

"Can that even work here?" Clara asked. She _had _seen the Doctor use the sonic screwdriver before and it _did _work wonders. But…. That was in _reality _reality. This was _virtual _reality.

"Worth another try!" the Doctor said quickly before pushing the button and pointing it right at the elevator panel. A couple of clicking noises could be heard until, at last, the elevator doors opened wide.

"Yes!" the Doctor and Clara cheered as Barbra began once again, "I'm sorry! If you need to talk to-"

She stopped. The two time-travelers turned to see Barbra frozen, her arms just barely hanging above the side of the desk, her cheekbones held high above her opened mouth.

"Oh my God," Clara whispered.

"It was bound to happen," the Doctor explained. "Which is exactly why we need to hurry this up."

"Why?" Clara asked.

"Because before, only the _players_ were being frozen. Barbra's not a player. She's a part of the game."

"How can you tell?"

The Doctor turned back around to go on with his theory. "Everything she says. Every movement she makes. It's all rehearsed. Programmed. She's part of the system. And she's freezing up along with everyone else that's in or a part of the game."

"Which means…" Clara shuddered.

"Which means, if we're going to help Tammi, Terrance, and Dylan, we've got to do it before one of them is next."

Clara nodded quickly and scurried into the elevator. The Doctor followed close behind and pushed the first button he saw. The elevator doors slowly closed and the machinery on the outside started to whir and grind together, taking them up.

The two let out a couple of deep sighs as they leaned onto the railing behind them. They looked all around inside the elevator. Nothing. The Doctor couldn't help but cast a glance at the buttons to his right and realized that they had _no numbers._ His eyes widened again in shock. He wasn't even sure he pressed the right one! Plus, there was no telling how many levels there were in the building or how far halfway was.

All he could do, though, was rest his head against the wall, close his eyes, hope that Clara wouldn't notice his unfortunate mistake, and pray that he would get a chance to meet Tammi and the others in time.

Tammi's eyes roamed along the walls, doorframes, and the floor as she lead Terrance and Dylan slowly down the hall. She wanted to take in as much of the outside life as she could.

Not that there was that much to take in. The walls were bare. The floor was immaculate. And every door window she looked into, it showed the same thing. An empty, naked room with silver-painted walls and one four-paned window on the side.

Half of her felt awed by all of the sights in front of her. It wasn't much to look at, but at least it was a change of pace and a break from all of the code numbers she stares at day after day.

The other half felt confused. Beyond confused, if she was being honest with herself. She was expecting…. More people. Doing….something. She didn't know why. But she knew that it couldn't be just her, Terrance, and Dylan doing all of the work. Right….?

The boys were keeping pace behind Tammi, and were sure to keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious. Just the long walk down the _LONG _hallway seemed suspicious enough.

"Damn," Dylan broke the silence, "How freaky is all of this?"

"What do you mean?" Terrance asked, even though he knew exactly what Dylan was talking about.

"Just…. All of this," was thing Dylan could reply with.

"It _is _a bit…." Tammi finally spoke, "strange."

Terrance and Dylan eyed the back of Tammi's head. They could just picture her face that showed every emotion known to man and next to nothing at the same time. They were surprised when she said, "That's why I know we should go on."

The boys just nodded silently at each other and continued moving forward.

Their footsteps that made loud clicking noises on top of the marble floor was the only noise audible in the hallway. Which now was coming to an end. _Thank God! _Tammi screamed in her head as she stopped. She took a good look at her left, and then her right. To the left was another long, _LONG _hallway full of the same boring-looking doors and boring-colored walls and floor. To her right was another long, _LONG _hallway full of the same boring-looking doors and boring-colored walls and floor.

The difference?

The hallway to Tammi's right had a big, shiny-silver door about a few feet down. It definitely stood out among the others.

"Hmmm," Tammi said out loud, making Terrance and Dylan step out just a little bit to catch what Tammi was staring at. When they finally found it, Terrance started by asking, "Huh. What do you think lies behind that door?"

"Don't know," Tammi responded, finding herself somehow tired and leaned against the edge of the hall for support.

"You think it could take us… you know, somewhere else?" Dylan asked.

"Somewhere else?" Tammi repeated, making a face. Dylan made the door sound like it held a spaceship.

"Another hallway or something," Dylan clarified.

"Maybe," Terrance said.

"Maybe," Tammi repeated again, staring intently at the door. She began biting the inside of her lip in deep thought. When she and the boys were spying on some of the other players, she would often see people come into the Administrative Building and use doors similar to the one in front of her now. She never knew where they go once they got in. She knew nothing bad could possibly happen behind the closed door. Everyone who came back out came in one piece.

Maybe Dylan was right.

Maybe it could take them to another hallway.

Without even thinking, she began heading towards the metal door, Terrance and Dylan following obediently. They all looked the door up and down. Dylan noticed a small panel next to it with a couple of buttons. After a few seconds of thought, he randomly punched one.

The kids were startled by a couple of clicking noises, but all settled when the door finally opened. They quickly took a look inside. A deep, roomy space was shown, with metal walls, a railing, and red carpet. Afraid that the door would suddenly close on them if they didn't hurry, Terrance scooted past Tammi and jumped inside. She and Dylan came in with him. The three sets of eyes scanned the inside once more, and found yet another panel. This time, though, it had more buttons on it. Terrance hovered a hand above it, not really sure which one to it and even more worried about what would happen if it was the _wrong _one.

"Um…." came out of his mouth. "Which one?"

"Beats me!" Dylan said, shrugging uselessly.

"Well," Tammi figured, "we said we'd meet the Doctor halfway. So…."

She began counting the buttons. After she was done, she stepped back, closed her eyes, and started whispering stuff out loud. Finally, she went back to the buttons, counted them up, and said, "Push this one."

"You sure?" Terrance asked.

"It's the middle button," she explained, "so it has to lead to the middle floor."

Dylan nodded in utter agreement as Terrance took a deep breath and pushed the button. The door, then, closed, and a bunch of whirring noises started up outside.

The three could feel the ground moving under them, and immediately grabbed onto the railing. It stopped after a second, but they never let go. Except for when a _DING! _noise was made and the door opened back up. Terrance took the lead now, and walked forward with Tammi and Dylan following close behind. The door, then, closed again behind them.

The kids wasted no time as they ran down the hall to the left, scanning each and every angle as fast as they could. It was as empty as the first floor, with only space and doors that led to more space. Once they got to the end, they ran back up to where the silver door was and saw that there were three extra hallways, one to the right and left, and one straight ahead of them.

"Ok," Tammi said, trying to conjure up some smart orders to give to the other two. "Ok…"

"Why… don't we try splitting up?" Terrance suggested, already checking out the left hallway.

"Yeah. Yeah," Dylan agreed, eyeing down to the right. "I'll take this one. Terrance can go that way. And Tammi, you can go down this one right here." He nodded down the middle hall.

"G-Good," Tammi nodded vigorously. "That might speed things up a little. Ok. So, we go down and check each hallway thoroughly. We'll meet right back here. If anything happens, scream."

"Obviously," Dylan muttered, hoping for a small grin from Tammi. Terrance gave him one, but Tammi was focused on her task.

Dylan gave up silently, a quick nod, and said, "Alright."

He, then, started on down his hallway.

"Let's go," Terrance said, which must have been the "Go" signal for Tammi because she automatically bolted down her hallway… but not before Terrance grabbed her by the arm, pulled her in and whispered very reassuringly, "Hey. Everything's going to be fine."

Tammi looked Terrance in the face and bit her lower lip.

She was scared.

Obviously.

And Terrance knew that from the start.

Tammi knew that Terrance knew.

That was probably why they made such a good team.

They could just… tell when something was off with one another.

That's why they liked each other so much.

And that's why Tammi gave Terrance a small grin and a, "I know."

Terrance returned the smile and slowly let go of her arm. They each took a deep breath and headed on down towards their respective hallways.

Tammi could hear Dylan and Terrance's footsteps and realized what noise they must be making. So, she tried a different approach. As quietly as she could, she took baby steps forward. She, also, crouched down a little and got up only to peep in through a door at a time. Each one was the same as the other. Empty and alone. She began scrutinizing the wall, too, for something, _anything _that might be out of place. But, sadly, once she got to the end, she found herself with nothing. Giving off a deep sigh and a shrug, she started back down the hall.

For no apparent reason, she began looking at herself through the door windows. Her reflection showed for only a few brief seconds, then it disappeared. It came back for a few seconds, then it disappeared again. She made out her neck, her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her deep eyes, her frizzy hair, her goggles…. All of the things she wish she could change but couldn't.

She was so wrapped up in herself that she didn't even hear the silver door from before make another _DING! _sound. She couldn't hear the loud footsteps against the marble. She couldn't see someone coming in her direction. Which is why she got a complete shock and surprise when she bumped into that someone and scurried back, gasping loudly and flinging her arms out in front for some protection.

The person in front of her gave a small squeal and stepped back, as well, equally shocked as her.

It was then that Tammi fully took in the person's presence.

He was a tall, rather lanky, man in a purple, tweed jacket with a bowtie and short but wavy brown hair. Behind him was a young woman who was a foot shorter than him, wore a knee-length, red Chinese dress, matching flats, and had her short, brunette hair up in a ponytail, with two chopsticks settled firmly in place.

Tammi's jaw practically lowered herself and her eyes followed, opening wide.

TammiTron012 was staring straight into the face…. Of the Doctor and Clara.

**FINALLY, RIGHT?! Read, review, favorite. Do whatever you can. But... whatever you do... DON'T. BLINK. ;-)**


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